Most of my time growing up was spent in California, but I've lived in Oklahoma and Kansas and even spent a couple of years out of the country, life of a military brat!

Wow, that's a tough one. I remember writing in elementary school, but I don't recall the exact moment. I just remember being in fifth grade and being proud that I already knew how to use quotation marks for dialogue when the rest of the class was just learning that concept.

My latest novel is a young adult story called Like You Mean It and features a disabled teen in a leading, romantic role. That concept is one that I envisioned for a long time but am just now seeing become a reality. Stories about wizards and vampires are nice and they make great escapes, but I think teens also need characters they can connect and identify with.

At first, I was just so tired of all of the rejections that I thought I'd take matters into my own hands. After I started the self-publishing journey, I realized how much I loved it because it allowed me to have complete control over the work. Since my stories are like my babies, it was important to me to maintain my artistic integrity. Being an indie author guarantees that. It's just nice to see the stigma of self-publishing no longer exists. When I first self-published, it was still a new concept. Now, it's part of the mainstream, which I think is great.

Smashwords allows me to reach a broader audience than I could on my own. It also offers me price point flexibility which I appreciate. I'm a firm believer in keeping my prices low so I can touch more readers.

What I love best about writing is watching an idea come to life. I love being able to breathe life into the characters as well, and I'll admit I always fall for my male leads!

My fans are the reason I write. They motivate and inspire me. If even one person reaches out to me and tells me how much my story has meant to them that makes me happier than any royalty check. And when I start to doubt my talent, I can always count on my fans to buoy my spirits and remind me of what's important about being a writer. Without fans I'm not a writer, I'm just a woman who likes to write.

Judy Blume always come to mind first. I grew up reading her and still read her books to this day. Erin Nicholas is also amazing. E Lynn Harris is equally awesome and I was sad to learn of his untimely death. The world lost a great author when he passed away.

I've actually got several different things in the works, but I'm focusing on the spin off to Like You Mean It. So many fans really loved Justin Jacobs, a character in Like You Mean It so I thought I'd give Justin his own story entitled This Time.

If I'm not at my day job, you'll find me spending time with my husband and my daughters. We can be doing something as simple as watching a movie or as grand as going to Universal Studios, but there's always something to do together.

I have a Nook. Honestly, I wanted the Kindle but when I went to the store, they were out. There was a Nook in stock and it seemed to fit the bill so I bought it. I know I could have ordered the Kindle online and had it shipped, but I'm too attached to instant gratification.

Uploading free stories to Wattpad has been the best thing I ever did. It helped me to build a huge fan base that's not only generating interest in my current and future works but reviving it in my older works.

Naturally, my computer sits in the middle. My desk jet printer is to the left and my reference books are on top as well as on the shelves below. I paid $25 for this desk at the Goodwill Store using the prize money from the first writing contest I ever won. No matter how much money I make at writing, I will keep this desk forever.